LTE's from Undergrounders

[Dave Ridley]

Here's a thread for posting Letters to the Editor which you have sent to NH papers.

Here's one I sent today to the Keene paper:

Dear folks at the Sentinel:

Sorry for the tardiness in submitting this, but I wanted to thank the City of Keene and the Sentinel staff for some things.? ?I'm one of the three Keene residents who organized the anti-UN protest at Robin Hood Park.? ?Torching a UN flag is a new and controversial thing to do, and we would not have been surprised to encounter official roadblocks, media vilification, etc.? But despite the understandable unease this generated in some quarters, almost no one ever abused their power in reacting to or reporting on our protest plans.? ?

When it comes to the city government; every time I walk into city offices I'm impressed by the helpful and professional demeanor of city staff, even when dealing with something controversial like this.? ?The Sentinel itself didn't give us a free ride, but no one asked you to, and I can't say you treated this unfairly. Even the private political group that opposed this did so in a constructive way.? They reminded us of the many things we have in common, particularly our mutual distrust of the Constitutionally-challenged federal government.

One minor correction to your article:? In protest against the UN's gun control fetish, some of our participants *did* wear open-carried pistols as planned.? I will just assume that their friendly and kind demeanor kept anyone from noticing.?

[dawn]

Sent to the Keene Sentinel prior to Christmas by my friend Bill.

A Need to Return to Old Time Values

Who is really to blame for the high taxes and loss of our beloved Thayer High School?

The blame lies in a number of different places, and it is time we did something about it. SAU 38 and the Winchester School Board would be appropriate places for us to start.

Margaret Sullivan, the assistant superintendent of SAU 38, seems to be squarely in the middle of the problems. Under her ?supervision?, Thayer lost its accreditation and much of the pride it has always had. Twenty years ago no one in this town would have voted to send our children out of town in order for them to receive a quality education. The school went down hill despite record town spending on education. I wonder how this was this allowed to happen.

At a recent budget committee meeting, Margaret Sullivan was questioned about how they would accomplish spending on specific projects if the budget for 2005 ?06 does not pass. Her answer was that they would just move money from one line item to another to get the projects done. She also flatly stated that, if it were up to her, she would have spent the $650,000 surplus and not returned any of it to the taxpayers of Winchester. This is not the attitude I want to see in someone expected to handle our tax dollars in a fiscally responsible manner.

It is my understanding that in the past, the school board ran the school system. The school board should once again be giving the orders, following the wishes of the taxpayers. Too many members of the Winchester School Board appear to be just going along with Margaret Sullivan?s requests.

It is time for the school board to take control back from the SAU. The board has a responsibility to keep much tighter control over the expenditures of our tax dollars, while ensuring that our children receive a quality education.

Thank you to our Budget Committee for offering the Winchester taxpayers a school budget that is more in alignment with the wishes of the taxpayers than with the wasteful expenditures that the SAU proposed.

Bill Campbell

[Russell Kanning]

Bill Campbell for School Board! 

[Dave Ridley]

Sent to Portsmouth Herald today:

Regarding your Dec. 3 editorial "Lynch, Scamman can bring positive change," I was terrified to learn from you that New Hampshire has a "dangerously understaffed and underfunded" executive branch.

Could you enumerate these dangers for me, so that I might take immediate steps to protect myself from them?

For instance, am I at risk of reduced taxation resulting from this underfunding?  Will this government's failure to spend more money on itself mean that I have to live under a governor who lacks an official SUV?  Will I be condemned to citizenship in a state where he or she goes without a salary?  What if we end up with one of those "citizen governors?"  You know the type?anarchists like Thomas Jefferson are always crowing about them.

I know what I'll do...I'll move to Massachusetts, where people have their priorities straight, where government is "adequately funded" and leaders are given sufficient power to impose their will on the people.

[Dave Ridley]

Sent to Letters at fosters <dot.>com

Thanks for Colin Manning's level synopsis of the upcoming state house session  ("Budget and education funding top list," December 26).

There is a lot to fear in this session if you're big on individual liberty.  Bills to restrict cell phones in cars, ban scooters from roads, tax charity poker...one begins to wonder what state we are living in and whether there is a new state motto in effect. 

But the article contains good news, too.  I'm happy to hear that state senator Tom Eaton is backing the institution of video poker machines at state racetracks.  This will allow the state to raise some new revenue without new taxation.   

However it's important to make sure that new revenue of this type does *not* become a source of new spending.   Instead, it should be a tool for destroying taxation.  The state should decline one tax dollar for every gambling dollar it obtains.

For example, if these poker machines generate X amount of new revenue, and the state's hated corporate tax generates Y amount of revenue, then we ought to write the poker bill so that it provides for a proportional decrease in the biz tax.

Anyway, poker machines are just one way for the state to fund itself without the ugly force of taxation. Imagine if we instituted every practical means of consensual revenue generation....  Lotteries, casinos in towns that want them, sale of advertising space in state offices, billboards on state overpasses.  There are downsides to all of the above, but nothing here rivals the evil of forced taxation.  And I'm sure there are much more innovative ways to consensually fund the state than my humble mind can scrape up today.  Anyway, Mr. Eaton has taken a step in the right direction which I hope will lead to much profit and reduced pressure for taxation.  Good for him!

[Kat Kanning]

How does the state get revenue from this if not by a tax?  Or am I misunderstanding what's going on?

[John]

PRINTED in this morning's New Hampshire Sunday News:

Alliance to rate politicians on keeping NH free
  To the Editors: Thanks for great articles, editorials, and letters in 2004. As always, your keen eyes helped keep me informed.
  As we enter the 2005 legislative season, I have an additional set of eyes, the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to keeping alive the "Live free or die" spirit.
  We have all heard that what is changing New Hampshire's political landscape are the immigrants from other states - particularly Massachusetts. Yet, this great paper has repeatedly exposed the "we can blame the newcomers  bit" as a big myth.  Bernadett Malone's piece, "Be thankful for those Mass immigrants," (on Nov. 14) comes to mind.
  As I see it, the big myth has become something like a blanket that a child might pull over his head when he hears strange noises in the night. The New Hampshire Liberty Alliance Legislative Index which scores and ranks lawmakers on pro- and anti-liberty votes will help expose who is really making those noises. Through political and civic action, I think the liberty alliance will help make some of those strange noises go away.
  I joined the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance (for free) and you can to.  They are at P.O. Box 4241, Manchester, can be called at 358-5079, and can be found on the Web.

John Connell
Salem

[rothamerica]

Nice piece, John.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Great Job, John

[Russell Kanning]

They print LTEs like that here in NH? 

[Kat Kanning]

Great, John!   I sent it to the NHLA yahoo group.

[Dave Ridley]

From David Mincin to Nashua Telegraph:

Dear editors at the Telegraph:

As you may know there is a major flap brewing in Hampton over the attempt by their zoning board to force a 95-year-old woman out of her (rather nice) home.

On January 25, Hampton Building Inspector Kevin Schultz will face her down in court...but first you the people of New Hampshire will have a chance to face *him* down and strike back against the zoning abuse he represents.   Our protest will be in front of the Rockingham County Courthouse, 10 Route 125, Brentwood, NH, Tuesday Jan. 25 at 9:30 a.m.   That's when Schultz will attempt to financially finish off his victims, 95-year-old Myrtle Woodward and her niece Barbara Burbank...all in the name of protecting them from themselves.   We hope you will not sit by and let it happen quietly.  If you've been waiting for the right moment to take a stand against zoning abuse, you need wait no longer. 

For more details visit the New Hampshire Underground  (nhunderground.com) or call Dave at 603.721.1490.  Let's make this count.

[Dave Ridley]

Letter from Dave Mincin to the Daily Democrat:


----

Dear friends at Fosters:

There's increasing attention being paid lately to zoning abuse, i.e. the excessive use of zoning laws to force people into poverty and homelessness.

One example of an attempted abuse is the appalling situation in Hampton, where building inspector Kevin Schultz is attempting to fine a family almost $200,000 for building a room on top of their garage...then force them to tear the room down.   This despite the fact that they obtained a permit to build the room.

On January 25 Schultz's fellow citizens will pay him a visit to remind him that this is still the Live Free or Die state.  All freedom-loving New Hampshirites are invited to participate in the demonstration.   Our protest will be in front of the Rockingham County Courthouse, 10 Route 125, Brentwood, NH, Tuesday Jan. 25, 9:30 a.m.   That's when Shultz will face his victims, 95-year-old Myrtle Woodward and her niece Barbara Burbank.  There in court he will try to force his will on them in the name of protecting them from themselves.  We hope you will not stand by and let it happen quietly.

Bring whatever props and signs you like, bring your friends, and most importantly
bring your love of freedom.  If you've been waiting for the right moment to take
a stand against zoning abuse, you need wait no longer.  For more details visit underground.soulawakenings.com
or call Dave at 603.___

[Dave Ridley]

Mincin posted a similar LTE to the Herald around 1/8

[Kat Kanning]

You know, Dave Mincin writes much better letters to the editor than you do, Dada.  You should take some lessons from him.   Those were excellent!